Our History

The trigger

My passion for movements, well executed, has always been an obsession, since my childhood.

I was not necessarily destined in the field in which I have been evolving in for more than 10 years. Although very active, I was into a whole different field, with studies in economics and political science, until the day that transformed my life.

I was coming back from the Pan American Junior Championships in karate where I represented Canada and performed very well. Upon one of my training, I began to feel, a funny sensation on the side of my right knee.

As the days went by, this feeling began to increase, becoming constant and limiting. I was even struggling to make simple movements. In addition, I had to compete very soon to resume my place on the Quebec provincial team in karate.

Backing away from nothing, I participated in this competition, not without excessive pain. It was horrible. Few words can describe all the physical and mental sensations of such a limitation. I, who had just performed at a high level internationally, was going to struggle to qualify for the provincial team.

The unfortunate journey

Pro-active, I went quickly to see a Physiotherapist. After a month of intensive sessions, I felt like we were going nowhere and the specialist, in front of me, had no idea where to go either.

On the recommendation of a member of my family, I went to see a sports doctor help me evaluate my situation. He made me do practically the same tests, I had observed them when performed by the previous Physiotherapist. He came to the conclusion that no diagnosis applied to my situation. He was sorry.

At the age of 19, feeling suddenly that his world is gradually collapsing when the ultimate goal was so close, that is to participate in a World Championships, due to my performances the previous year, is horrible.

There was no question of stopping, however, and finding a solution to my situation was the only option. In the meantime, it was practically impossible for me to train without suffering intensively.

I went to meet another sports doctor, who seemed to point to a muscle group issue. Everything was still vague. I continued, under his recommendation, with another Physiotherapist, who managed to alleviate some suffering, but without changing the problem at its source.

After a few months of proceedings, one morning I woke up exceedingly angry and decided that it was enough.

I put in writing the unfortunate journey I had just experienced and realized one thing in common: everyone was carrying out the same test protocols and coming to the same conclusions. Makes sense, isn't it!

Obviously, the test protocols used were problematic, since they did not give the full measure of my situation. I also went to meet other specialists at Université Laval, in Quebec City, at Université de Montréal, and at various other clinics in Montreal and the South Shore of Montreal.

At the Pan-American Junior Championship in Curacao (before last first row).

September 2006

At the Paris Open (first on the second row to the right).

January 2006

I have been practicing karate since I am 5 years old.

August 1997

I have competed in more than 100 competitions on the WKF circuit (recognized by the IOC)

November 2008

The fight

Almost a year had passed between the beginning of my limitations and my unsuccessful steps. I had also failed to qualify for the National Team by suffering a humiliating first-round loss at the Canadian Championships, which I had never lived in my sports career.

Unfortunately, this stopped my hopes of going to the World Karate Championships, a sport for which I had spent so much time and effort since the age of five. However, without suspecting it, this would be the very first steps towards the beginning of le Center Bouger Mieux.

From now on, I would find the answers to my situation and improve my quality of life.

Enough was enough.

Put in context

I began to parse scientific documents, to read thousands of pages from different authors and gradually to make a path in the understanding of what is a musculoskeletal problematic.

What I initially understood was very telling in my case. Putting in context changed everything about understanding a problem. I realized that it was necessary to observe a problem in accordance with its context.

For example, is it an accident, a trauma or an incident? If not, this is related to the functions of the individual. That's why the cause is not so apparent, so to speak.

I began to observe and reconnect with my body to validate what was happening during different movements. One good morning (the night always carries advice!), starring at my feet, I remembered that nearly 8 months before my symptoms, I had fractured bones of my right foot.

Isolate first to better integrate

No professional met had checked nor asked about my history. For me, my broken foot bones were so far in time, that the link to my actual issue was not a given. Rather, that was the key to improving my situation.

As I watched how I moved, I realized that very few joints were moving properly all over my body. I was an expert in compensation, although I could exhibit excellent flexibility, relative to the general population, I had no idea how to move better.

My obsession to improve my situation became an obsession for the improvement of all my movements. I stopped my studies I was pursuing at the Master level in Economics and started to follow tens of training courses in the field of anatomy, training, physiology and biomechanics.

My academic background

As an intellectual, I did not hesitate to invest, in a considerable way, time and money, to learn more and more. At that moment, my mission became to help me, in order to better help others. There was no way that I would witness other people suffer like I did without solutions.

My motivation for this field, in addition to my boundless desire to contribute to a better quality of life for people who require my services, led me to study in many places in North America. In particular, I did cadavers' dissection, in addition to working with internationally renowned experts in the field of rehabilitation and physical performance, such as Thomas Myers, Dr. Micheal Clark, Dr. Andreo Spina, Dr. Micheal Chivers, Dr. Erik Dalton, Dr. Mike Boyle, Dr. Charlie Weingroff, to name a few.

Le Centre Bouger Mieux 1.0

The very first version of le Centre Bouger Mieux took place in the city of Cornwall, in Ontario, from July 2011 to June 2013.

I had the opportunity to contribute to the development of a new concept at the Nav Center in Cornwall. As a subcontractor, I have put in place the very first stones of le Centre Bouger Mieux by helping hundreds of people from the region. Very quickly, I began to obtain references from Physicians, Physiotherapists and Chiropractors of the area. People I had never even met started talking about patient outcomes and suggested they meet me.

Resolutely focused on corrective training, however, I wished I could accelerate the improvement of different issues, by performing manual therapy. Also, my need for autonomy posed problems within the organization in which I collaborated - it was better in this case, for my part, to stand on my own.

Le Centre Bouger Mieux 2.0

In August 2012, I started my basic training in massage therapy in Montreal. My goal was to obtain these basic elements in order to continue my training in manual therapy, with many specialists in this field, in the United States.

At the same time, I have tried to collaborate with a chiropractic clinic in the Vaudreuil-Dorion region; however, I quickly realized that I would not agree to collaborate in an environment that would not seek to work the cause of a problem, in a progressive manner and resolutely focused on making individuals more autonomous. I decided to open le Centre Bouger Mieux on Saint-Charles Avenue, in Vaudreuil-Dorion, in November 2012.

Initially, I offered corrective exercises training according to the principles and knowledge that I had at that moment. I also started manual therapy sessions, while continuing many training courses.

It was not always easy, I dealt with very problematic cases, cases where people did not respect the recommendations that I made, and others where I did not observe well what was going on. In each case, I carefully compiled what was done and the results. I continued to improve my ability to observe, my continuing education, and to help improve the quality of life of the people who came to meet me. Even today, my very first clients are still referring to me individuals with physical limitations.

Increasing demand for my services forced me to include employees. A few months after the first employee, the Vaudreuil Center had 9 employees. I even opened another branch in Brossard this time in the fall of 2016.

Until I had enough.

Enough of the fight I had daily with employees mainly, for a different way of doing things in this field, despite hundreds of hours of training, ignored by them. They were stuck to their academic teachings, which did not deliver results and whose people were running away from.

I had to make an important decision and with heavy consequences: to pursue and betray what defined me or to stop everything and fix it.

I decided to reduce the number of employees and close the Brossard branch.

I have had several months with difficulty of getting up in the morning; exhausted, discouraged and lost.

Nevertheless, I had not lost my taste for helping others, but I had lost a balance in my life.

That's what leads to le Centre Bouger Mieux 3.0.

Le Centre Bouger Mieux 3.0

After experiencing a rapid surge in demand for le Centre Bouger Mieux's services in Vaudreuil-Dorion, I decided to look back and motivated by the desire to get back to basics.

Le Centre Bouger Mieux 3.0 is the return to the very essence of my initial desire: to make this world a better world and to contribute to improving the quality of life of those who wish to live better.

My entrepreneurial adventures have shown me that the essential thing is not to serve the most people in a day but to be excellent at each of these sessions, to adapt to the specific needs of the individuals and above all, to offer an efficacy process.

To learn more, read about our Values, Mission and Vision by clicking here.